The Beginnings of Activism for the Department of Asian American Studies (BADAAS) at University of California Irvine, was created for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Asian American Studies Department. Through interviewing the activists and sifting through archival material, the group is uncovering what led to the eventual foundation of the Asian American Studies department.
Research Methodology:
Our research methods involved examining primary sources as well as conducting interviews to get a wider perspective. We looked at the Academic Senate Records as well as the Cross Cultural Center Records which are both housed in Special Collections under University Archives. There is also surviving footage of the 1993 protests which is view-able online. For our interviews, we invited past alumni and faculty members to talk about their experiences for advocating for Asian American Studies or their UCI experience with Asian American Studies. We are currently in the process of making a short mini-documentary about our project.
Sources We Looked at:
Academic Senate Records: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3779n7ks/
Cross Cultural Center Records: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt967nd67n/
1993 Protest Footage: http://ucispace.lib.uci.edu/handle/10575/14142
UCI Stories: John Liu and Tu-Uyen Nguyen: https://ucistories.lib.uci.edu/interviews/john-liu-tu-uyen-nguyen
UCI Stories: Manuel Gomez and Jenny Doh: https://ucistories.lib.uci.edu/interviews/jenny-doh-manuel-gomez